May 20, 2007 |

I had a blast last night headlining Tracy’s comedy club. Thanks to all the WNST listeners who were there. I imagine you saw a side of me you might not have expected. Obviously, my standup is pretty raw. I tone it down quite a bit for the radio show. Have to.

Tonight there’s two shows- 8pm and 10pm. We showed "The Filchaks Take a Gamble" last night. It’s a 30 minute short film that I directed about a family of hustlers who have to figure out the winning side of a football game in order to save the family home. It got tons of laughs last night and we may show it again tonight. If you can make it out to Tracy’s Comedy Club- 9306 Harford Road in Parkville- just mention WNST and you get five bucks off the ticket price. Hope to see you there.
NOW… onto the Orioles.

Okay, so on the show this morning, I was REALLY TOUGH on Jay Gibbons and I want to explain why. Here’s a guy who, supposedly, is a good team player. He’s considered a "lunch pail" kid who will do what it takes to help the ball club. But is he? Generally speaking, guys like that don’t mouth off to the media. They don’ question their managers. They simply do as they’re told. Gibbons isn’t doing that. He’s demanding playing time as though he’s a true part of the regular lineup. He’s not. On a good baseball team he’s a part time role player.

For a few years, given the rash of injuries and poor on the field performance, he had opportunities to be a regular part of the lineup and, mostly, he performed okay. Only, "okay" isn’t good enough. As determined as Gibbons looks when he comes to the plate, he’s just not that good. Sure, he’s great at tricking you into thinking he’s going to knock one out of the stadium. He plants his feet squarely in the batter’s box, he glares at the pitcher, his swing is steady and then… he pops out to the shortstop. Sorry Jay. Be glad you’re on a team that has SOME use for you. Enjoy the pine. Eat some sunflower seeds and you’ll get just as many at bats as you deserve.

Tejada… What can I say? Even though my brother tried to argue that he’s the best hitter on the club and therefore the ONE bat that should NOT be traded, you listeners don’t agree. And neither do I. Tejada has been a problem for too long now. He has too much trade value and it’s time to let him go.

Let’s rebuild this team. We may end up taking our lumps this year but there could be value down the road. Let’s move Tejada, Mora (who seems to want out), Gibbons (if anyone will take him), Roberts (because I don’t think he’s ever going to live up to early billing) and find some guys who care about winning ball games. Guys who know how to do the little things. The Orioles are close. I truly believe that. Let’s be bold and see if we can’t compete next year. Because this year, the best we have to look forward to is a sweep against the Nationals.